House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just told reporters that she does not believe she has enough votes in the House to pass the Senate health care reform bill as-is — at least not yet.
“I don’t see the votes for it at this time,” Pelosi said. “The members have been very clear in our caucus about the fact that they didn’t like it before it had the Nebraska provision and some of the other provisions that are unpalatable to them.”
“In every meeting that we have had, there would be nothing to give me any thought that that bill could pass right now the way that it is,” she said. “There isn’t a market right now for proceeding with the full bill unless some big changes are made.”
While she didn’t say the option was dead — “Everything is on the table,” she said — she outlined two very different options for passing a bill.
“There’s a recognition that there’s a foundation in that bill that’s important. So one way or another those areas of agreement that we have will have to be advanced, whether it’s by passing the Senate bill with any changes that can be made, or just taking [pieces of it],” Pelosi said.
“We have to get a bill passed — we know that. That’s a predicate that we all subscribe to.”
When will that happen? Who knows!
“We’re in no rush,” Pelosi said.
Reporting by Brian Beutler
Late update: And the video:
